These North Jersey boys soccer teams brought home sectional titles on Friday

Glen Rock

North 1, Group 2

Final score: No. 3 Glen Rock 2, No. 1 Ramsey 1.

Glen Rock won it the hard way and with the help of a little-known freshman.

The Panthers brought home their first sectional title since 2018 by knocking off the four-time defending champions on the road at DePuyt Field.

Senior Harrison Wortley opened the scoring in the second half and rookie Victor Kubasek doubled the lead in the 54th minute to complete a stunning rise for Glen Rock (16-3-2). The title comes after losing 18 seniors from a team that was bounced in the opening round last year.

For Glen Rock, this was a much more satisfying outcome after tying Ramsey back in September.

"It was kind of like the last game," coach Matt Beverin said. "It was physical. It was pretty direct for a lot of it. Each team had their chances. Each team had possession of the ball. I told the boys that it's going to come down to the slim margins. We had to be buttoned up and finish the opportunities that we got."

Ramsey came into the game having won 18 straight sectional matches with 12 by shutout and only one that required overtime.

The player who brought that dynasty to an end wasn't even on varsity when the year began and didn't have a goal to his name before Friday night. Kubasek was called up midway through the season and earned a role as starting midfielder, allowing Glen Rock to move sharpshooting Alex Kim up top. Before Kubasek scored, Glen Rock won the ball in Ramsey's half and took it down the right endline.

"A cross came in through the box and it just bumped out to him at the top of the box," Beverin said. "He put a touch on it by the 18 and hit it far corner. It was a nice shot."

Glen Rock will head down to Harrison to play the North 2 champions on Tuesday.

"This team didn't want to go one-and-done again," Beverin said. "We used that as fuel for ourselves this year. Our saying right now is the job is not finished."

Article Link